Congressman Geoff Davis : Serving Kentucky's Fourth District

UPDATE: Click here to read the dissenting views on H.R. 3200

Washington, D.C. —Congressman Geoff Davis opposed the House Democrats’ flawed health care legislation during the Ways and Means markup of H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act.  The legislation passed in Committee on Ways & Means by a vote of 23 to 18.

The 1018-page America’s Affordable Health Choices Act was introduced by Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, allowing members of the Ways and Means Committee less than forty-eight hours to review the bill and prepare amendments for the markup.  The bill was referred to the House Committees on Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce, and Education & Labor.  The Ways & Means Committee markup began at 9 a.m. on July 16th. 

Unfortunately, this important reform process is being rushed along artificial timelines that do not allow for proper and adequate consideration of the proposals by the Members or the professional fiscal analysts.  Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf testified that the accelerated pace had not allowed the CBO to conduct a complete analysis of the bill.  However, he was able to tell us that H.R. 3200 will significantly increase federal health care spending. 

Although committee markups are supposed to give members a bipartisan forum to improve and amend the legislation, Democrats rejected more than thirty amendments offered by Republican members of the Ways & Means Committee.

During the hearing, Congressman Davis remarked, “The bill in front of us today is called America’s ‘Affordable’ Health Choices Act.  I don’t know who came up with that name or how they define ‘affordable,’ but well over a trillion dollars isn’t considered ‘affordable’ in Kentucky.

“In order to enact successful health care reform, we must first accomplish three things: reform and re-engineer Medicare and Medicaid, reform the private market insurance system and enact tort reform to end frivolous lawsuits.  Without all three, we fail in our shared goal. 

“We are talking about spending well over a trillion dollars just to get the bill and the public plan started and we don’t even know specifically what we’re going to get for it.  We don’t have the details; we don’t have the facts.  This legislation will have generational impacts, so we have to slow it down and take the time to consider the bill and ask the experts in the field in our districts what they think about it.”

Congressman Davis offered an amendment to protect small businesses from punitive tax burdens in the bill.  H.R. 3200 requires employers to either offer plans that meet government mandates or pay an 8% tax on payroll.  In the underlying bill, if an employee rejects the employer provided plan, for any reason, the employer still must pay an 8% tax on the value of that employee’s wages to the Health Information Exchange.  Congressman Davis’ amendment would eliminate this 8% tax if the employer offers a plan meeting the government mandates.  The amendment was defeated, 17-24.

Congressman Davis co-sponsored an amendment offered by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) that would strike the government-run plan from H.R. 3200.  When urging his colleagues to support the amendment, Congressman Davis stated that a government-run health care plan will not live up to the promises made by its proponents; instead, it will hurt health care providers and reduce quality all at a gargantuan cost to our children.  The amendment was defeated, 15-25. 

You can watch video of the debate on these amendments by selecting the links below.

• Davis: Liability Reform Critical to Successful Health Care Bill 
• Rep. Davis Urges Committee to Reject Government-Run Health Care Plan 
• Rep. Davis Fights to Prevent Health Care Rationing 
• Davis: Health Care Bill Kills Jobs

Among others, the following amendments were offered during the Ways & Means markup:

• Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) offered an amendment that would repeal the government-run plan if wait times exceed the average wait time for enrollees in the private insurance plans.  The amendment to terminate the government-run plan if it led to rationing by delay was defeated 15-26.
• Congressman Dean Heller (R-NV) offered an amendment that would deny benefits to illegal immigrants.  This amendment to provide improved verification of eligibility for benefits under the bill was defeated 15-26.
• Congressman Heller (R-NV) also offered an amendment that would require all Members of Congress to get insurance through the government-run plan.  This amendment was defeated 18-21.
• Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA) offered an amendment to require the government plan to maintain reserves in amounts consistent with insurance standards that apply to private plans.  The amendment would further clarify that reserves would have to come from premiums, not taxpayers thru federal subsidies.  This amendment was defeated 19-22.
• Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA) offered an amendment to repeal the prohibition on new enrollees in private individual market plans.  Today there are 16 million Americans who are enrolled in an individual market health plan.  House Democrats want to eliminate this option for every American.  H.R. 3200 says that beginning in 2013 the health plans that provide coverage for these Americans could no longer enroll new members.  This will cause a slow and steady attrition out of these plans, violating the promise that you should be able to keep the coverage you like. This amendment was defeated 15-26.

You can read about more amendments offered and the recorded votes on their consideration here.  You can view an organizational chart of the complexity of health care under H.R. 3200 here.  You can read more about Congressman Davis’ thoughts and ideas about health care reform by visiting the health care issue page.